Garlock asbestos committee asks court strike Ford's evidence request

By Kali Hays

New York, March 20 - The official committee of asbestos personal injury claimants against Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC has asked that a court strike Ford Motor Co.'s request for filings and sealed evidence from Garlock's asbestos case that ended in January, according to a March 19 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

As previously reported, Ford requested the documents on March 14 in light of the court in Garlock's case finding "widespread misconduct" by asbestos claimants and their attorneys.

Ford has been a co-defendant with Garlock on numerous occasions and said that it may have been defrauded in some of the same cases as Garlock.

The committee claims that the bankruptcy court "lacks subject matter jurisdiction over Ford's motion and should strike it," citing a pending appeal of a similar request by Legal Newsline for sealed evidence, the filing stated.

The committee further claimed that if Ford's request were granted or denied, "it would intrude upon the exclusive jurisdiction of the district court to pass on the same issues and grant or deny the same relief on Legal Newsline's appeal."

The committee also alleged that "Ford's motion is defective for failure to give proper notice to potentially affected persons" and that the company has made no effort to inform "claimants, law firms, trusts, and otherwise absent persons whose rights and interests stand to be prejudiced."

Garlock is a subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.-based EnPro Industries, which makes sealing products, bearings, compressors and engines. Garlock filed for bankruptcy on June 5, 2010 under Chapter 11 case number 10-31607.

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